TWO budding food critics have continued their quest to find Pontypridd’s top eateries. Alfie Lisles and Vivek Sharma, who have already sampled Prince’s cafe and Cafe Royale in Pontypridd town centre, have dined in some of the best restaurants in town. This week, it’s a double scoop of fun for the pair, who went to Cafe Zone to try their wide selection of ice creams

“WHEN we entered Cafe Zone, we immediately knew we had picked a good place for a summer treat,” they said.

“Cafe Zone is handily placed for visits to Ynysangharad Park, just opposite the park gates.

“The Sub-Zero ice cream they sell was to die for, produced locally by Mr Creamy.

“There were so many choices of flavours that we both decided to have a “Boat” and try two flavours each.

“The Boat included two scoops of different ice creams, a flake, waffles, sprinkles or nuts, a choice of sauces, a jelly star and jelly baby as the boat’s captain – plus a Welsh flag and an “oar” to eat with.”

Viv’s combination of ice creams were mango sorbet and Belgian choc-a-block, with Alfie going for strawberry and toffee.

Alfie thought the ice cream was really milky and tasty and Viv thought choc-a-block was delicious because it was packed with chunks of chocolate with ripples of chocolate sauce.

But the mango sorbet was not to Viv’s taste as it didn’t taste enough like the fruit.

“We were really impressed with their boats, but they were so big we couldn’t take them home.”

Cafe Zone sells more than just wonderful ice creams, however.

They also sell a variety of other dishes including Paninis, soups and both sweet and savoury pancakes, as well as teas and coffees and cakes.

“We interviewed Kath, who has worked there for 16 months, since the cafe opened.

“Kath thinks the cafe is perfect and would not change a thing. We found it to be a very friendly place and the service was good. We especially liked the whacky quotes on the walls, such as: ‘Smile, it’s the second best thing you can do with your lips’.”